Microsoft’s new keyboard banishes passwords with a built-in fingerprint sensor

A Modern Keyboard for a password-free modern age

Microsoft has launched another keyboard (with a partner mouse) which is a spin on the Surface Keyboard that emerged last fall, although this variant adds a very nifty extra: a fingerprint sensor.

Microsoft calls this new peripheral the Modern Keyboard, dropping the Surface branding, and making it more suitable for a wider range of devices because it offers a wired connection as well as wireless connectivity (the Surface Keyboard was Bluetooth only).

It’s essentially the same as the Surface Keyboard, though, and benefits from a slim profile with an aluminum chassis. The big change is the addition of a fingerprint sensor for logging into Windows 10 via Windows Hello, meaning no more typing in passwords.

The fingerprint sensor is ‘hidden’ as Microsoft puts it, meaning that it’s disguised as a plain key (next to the Alt key on the right-hand side).

Pricey proposition

The keyboard requires a pair of AAA batteries for wireless operation which should give you 12 months of battery life. And if you thought the Surface Keyboard was expensive at $100 (around £80, AU$130) – as we noted in our review – then Microsoft’s Modern Keyboard ups the ante even further costing $130 (around £100, AU$170).

That fingerprint sensor was never going to come for free, though. Even so, it’s a fairly pricey proposition as a peripheral.

As mentioned, the Modern Keyboard also comes with a partner Modern Mouse (naturally), but this is simply a rebranded Surface Mouse, with no differences at all. The mouse will set you back $50 (around £40, AU$65).